Ms Woolf comes from the London law firm CMS Cameron McKenna and is an expert on the privatisation of electricity markets and infrastructure. She is also a former president of the Law Society of England and Wales and is a Governor of Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She will assume her year-long role on 8 November, when she heads a parade through the streets of the Square Mile at the Lord Mayor's Show.

As the FT points out, this rare appointment shines a light on gender imbalance in the City, where only six percent of managing directors are female.